Etisalat Group extends reach to USA, Canada

FAST growing Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communications operator, Etisalat Group, has struck an agreement with Internet Protocol (IP) solutions provider, the Global Crossing, to provide seamless connectivity alternatives to customers who want to expand their connectivity to the United States, Canada and Latin America from the United Arab Emirate (UAE).

As part of this alliance, Etisalat has set up its own node in New York with last mile connectivity provided by Global Crossing to offer global connectivity solutions through a secure and fully owned IP/MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) network as part of Etisalat’s long-term strategy of enhancing global connectivity options for its corporate customers.

In a press statement to ITRealms Online, the Senior Vice President, Business Solutions, Abdulla Hashim said “This partnership with Global Crossing is significant in terms of expanding the connectivity alternatives for our customers across the US, Canada and Latin America.

This will enable us to leverage their local presence and the capabilities of their integrated IP-based network to support our customers. Moreover, the presence of our own nodes is a major differentiator for customers across this region that now can rely on us for world class connectivity solutions with advantages like reliable quality of service and network management capabilities.”

Also, Global Crossing’s head of Carrier Sales for South Europe, Middle East and Africa Habib Issa said that as Etisalat’s business clients take advantage of globalisation and IP convergence market trends, they can benefit from Etisalat’s support model, strong regional presence and the global seamless network enabled by Global Crossing’s IP infrastructure.”

Commenting on this development, the chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans, said that the alliance to extend customers coverage is a demonstration of telco’s commitment in providing world-class services to its customers without limitation.

“The IP VPN services offered will deliver feature-rich capability of a fully managed IP network while providing the reliability, quality and security of an MPLS-based private network environment,” Mr. Evans said.

He also said that Etisalat aims to extend its customers connectivity in countries where it does not have coverage by being part of the Global Crossing MPLS network stressing that this would enable UAE based customers to extend their connectivity through Etisalat across the US, Canada and Latin American markets.

The move, according to the public relations manager, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Yinka Ijabiyi, would also translate into pricing advantages that would be passed on to customers since Etisalat would manage its own network from end-to-end in a seamless manner.

Currently standing at the 140th position among Financial Times’ top 500 corporations in the world, Etisalat is one of the largest provider of telecommunication services in Africa and the Middle East and serves an ever increasing subscriber base of 100 million people across Africa, Middle East and Asia.


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